A Moonless Night
by izziebella913
Summary: New Moon written in Alice's POV.
1. Chapter 1

A Moonless Night

A Moonless Night

By IzzieBella913

New Moon from Alice's POV

"We can't do that, Alice, we can't risk having that many people here at once, what if something goes wrong?"

"What could possibly go wrong?"

"It's not worth the risk," Edward's voice was sharp.

I turned towards Esme; she of all people would take my side. "It's once in a lifetime we get to do something like this, we haven't celebrated a birthday in so long, and it's Bella!"

"I'm sorry," Esme's voice was tender and I could see the remorse in her eyes, "but your siblings are right, we can't risk having ourselves exposed to that."

"We have to do something; I mean it's her birthday!"

"Alice's right." I could tell that I wasn't the only one surprised by these words. We all turned around to see who had dared to agree with me on this matter.

Emmett's eyes sparkled at the sudden attention. Even I had to admit I didn't see this one coming.

Bella walks through the doorway accompanied by Edward. Everyone stands around to greet her. The house is decorated from wall to wall. The room is filled with pink and silver, from the cake to the presents.

"Happy Birthday, Bella!" we all scream as soon as her eyes have focused on the room.

"Emmett, you're brilliant!"

He laughed, "I know I am, but you might let me explain to everyone why that is, this time."

"Alice, don't you think that might be a little over the top?" Edward's voice brought my focus back to the group.

"Over the top? How could a birthday party with only us be over the top?"

"The decorations? The cake? The _presents_? Aren't we forgetting that she doesn't _want_ her birthday, she doesn't _want ­_a party, or even for people to acknowledge the day; shouldn't we be respecting her wishes?"

"I don't think she fully understands how much fun a birthday could be. And would ignoring the day all together be that much better than making her last through a party for her, presents for her, and cake, all for her?"

"Way to steal my spotlight Alice," Emmett joined the group now, giving me a sour, but mocking look.

"Sorry Emmett, it was a brilliant idea."

"Wait, did you say presents?" Rosalie's voice added variety to the currently male-dominated conversation.

"Yes…" I closed my eyes again.

Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper hand Bella a wrapped present, inside is a car stereo. Esme and Carlisle are next, giving Bella tickets to go see her mom. Edward and I hand Bella our present of …

EDWARD, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!

I waited a second to be sure that Edward had distracted his thoughts with something besides my visions.

Edward plays the piano, Esme's favorite song, as I stand next to him, a small silver device in my hand.

Edward and I step forward to hand Bella her present, a small silver package no larger than her hand. She opens it to find a silver disk.

"And you all will pick the best gifts, don't worry." I smiled as their faces all dropped.

"Alice, you couldn't at least save us the trouble of having to pick a gift for her by just telling us what we picked?"

"Nope, it's more fun this way." I couldn't help but laugh at the now evil glares I was getting from my family members. "Okay, okay, Esme and Carlisle split a gift, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper all share, and Edward and I share." I could feel Edward's eyes on me now. There was a small sigh of relief from Jasper and Rosalie; I knew that they would be the ones who would have the hardest time picking a gift for Bella.

I looked around the room. Everyone seemed content at least, especially Emmett whose grin turned into a smile from ear to ear. I closed my eyes.

Emmett hands Bella a wrapped, unidentifiably shaped gift. She opens it …

It's a football …

It's keys to a car …

It's a helmet …

I couldn't help but laugh at the last one, that gift probably would be put to use the most when it comes to Bella; Emmett's wandering mind always amused me.

"Well then," Emmett's voice was already wandering away from the group, "come on then, we have a lot of planning to do." Rosalie and Jasper crossed to follow Emmett upstairs. Esme and Carlisle excused themselves to leave for the kitchen.

"So," Edward's voice was directly next to my ear now. I turned to see his face looking down at me with his quaint smile, "what do we get her?"

"Well, what do you think she would like?"

"She doesn't want anything; she doesn't want us spending money on her."

"Well, we can leave the money spending up to the others; our gift doesn't cost a penny." I smiled at him, and saw a look of relief flood his face.

"So what is it then?"

"Well, what are you good at that she would enjoy?" His eyes left mine, searching the walls for the answer. "Think hard, Edward, it will come to you." I smiled and skipped back to the stairs. "And she will absolutely love it." I ran up the stairs before he would have the chance to chase me.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hurry up, Alice

"Hurry up, Alice!" Edward's voice echoed through the large house.

"Edward we aren't going to be late, _trust me!_" I found the over emphasis on the last few words to be ironic; Edward of all people should understand that _I_ should be able to tell when we would be late or not.

I ran down the stairs, nearly tripping over the pile of boxes of decorations by the bottom of the stairs. "I'm ready! Let's go." The two of us sped off towards school. "She'll get there after us, Edward, we have plenty of time."

"You have the gift?" his eyes shot over to me suddenly.

I answered him with a disapproving look in response. "Edward, really, you need to calm down, it's just her birthday and she will be fine. No matter how much anyone says that they hate their birthday, there is always a small part of them that secretly can't wait for that day to come every year."

We continued to school, parked the car, and waited in silence until Bella's truck pulled into its usual parking spot. With each moment of waiting I realized that I was getting equally as excited as Edward was. This was a special day. We hadn't celebrated a birthday in what seems like forever and finally it was with someone who could really appreciate being a full year older.

I could barely stand still for any longer once Bella was out of her car. I continued over to her, "Happy birthday, Bella!" the words slipped through my lips without control.

"Shh!" She looked nervous rather than angry.

I felt the square package in my hand, "Do you want to open your present now or later?"

"No presents." Edward was right, she was being unusually stubborn about the whole birthday thing. I wasn't quite expecting so much hostility towards the subject, but I was not ready to let the entire day slip.

"Okay … later, then. Did you like the scrapbook your mom sent you? And the camera from Charlie?" My vision from this morning of her parents' gifts had made me optimistic towards her reactions to our presents.

"Yeah. They're great."

I tried to lighten the mood, "_I_ think it's a nice idea. You're only a senior once. Might as well document the experience."

She raised her eyebrows in rebuttal, "How many times have _you_ been a senior?"

She had a point, "That's different." She didn't argue.

We both headed back towards Edward. He reached out for her as soon as she was close enough. I stepped away, giving them their privacy. The feeling of being the third wheel was never a downer in my opinion, I couldn't help but love the feeling when the two of them were with each other; the happiness was addicting.

"You _might_ have changed your mind. Most people seem to enjoy things like birthdays and gifts." The end of Edward's discussion with Bella made me laugh.

"Of course you'll enjoy it. Everyone is supposed to be nice to you today and give you your way, Bella. What's the worst that could happen?"

She stopped and turned towards me. "Getting older."

"Eighteen isn't very old. Don't women usually wait till they're twenty-nine to get upset over birthdays?" My attempt at lightening the situation didn't help much.

"It's older than Edward."

"Technically," I had to agree, "Just by one little year, though." She didn't answer. "What time will you be at the house?"

Bella's face changed. "I didn't know I had plans to be there."

I shot a glare at Edward quickly and then returned to my conversation with Bella. "Oh, be fair, Bella! You aren't going to ruin all our fun like that, are you?"

"I thought my birthday was about what _I_ wanted."

Edward cut in at this point, "I'll get her from Charlie's right after school."

"I have to work," she tried to argue, but I cut in before she could go any further.

"You don't, actually. I already spoke to Mrs. Newton about it. She's trading your shifts. She said to tell you 'Happy Birthday'"

Her eyes showed her panic, "I – I still can't come over. I, well, I haven't watched _Romeo and Juliet_ yet for English."

This was one of the most desperate excuses I had heard from her so far. "You have _Romeo and Juliet_ memorized."

She persisted in trying to escape my plans for the night. "But Mr. Berty said we needed to see it performed to fully appreciate it – that's how Shakespeare intended it to be presented.

"You've already seen the movie." I could tell that this conversation would be winding to an end soon enough, Bella would run out of excuses.

"But not the nineteen-sixties version. Mr. Berty said it was the best."

This was getting old; time for a new approach. "This can be easy, or this can be hard, Bella, but one way or the other – "

Edward cut me off. "Relax, Alice. If Bella wants to watch a movie, then she can. It's her birthday." I felt my own face drop that this.

"So there," Bella added, just sinking my hurt even further into the ground.

Edward smiled at me, " I'll bring her over around seven." I looked up to see his face again. "That will give you more time to set up."

I relaxed. Tonight really was going to go as planned. "Sounds good. See you tonight, Bella! It'll be fun, you'll see." I stepped over to give her a kiss on the cheek before leaving off towards the building before the two of them.


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the school day progressed in a monotonous manor

Chapter 3

The rest of the school day progressed in a monotonous manor. The classes dragged on as I could barely sit still from my own excitement for tonight. As last period finally ended I nearly sprinted from the classroom. I barely had time to close the Volvo's door behind me before the engine was roaring to life.

As I drove home I continued to plan out the decorations and the night's events. We had everything that could possibly be wanted for a birthday party. Bella was not eighteen and so she should have a mature party, but I couldn't help going for an elegant pink theme.

By the time I reached the house I was fully caught up in my plans for the night. It wasn't until I was out of the car that I recognized the tall figure standing on the porch steps.

"Emmett!" I ignored the open car door and raced into his arms. I instantly met his firm grip as he scooped me up into his bear-like embrace. I could feel the pressure against my chest. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too sis, I wasn't expecting you to be so surprised," he smirked. It was then that I realized that I must have been so caught up in my thoughts all day that I must have missed him coming.

"Of course it's amazing to see you too, but why aren't you in Africa?" He finally put me back onto my feet.

"We called Esme this morning to check in and she told us about the party you had planned for Bella, and I wouldn't miss that for anything."

Suddenly another figure appeared in the doorway. "Rosalie!" I turned to run towards her. Her arms wrapped around me as I clutched her tight. "How are you? I've missed you too."

"Hey Alice, good to see you." Her voice was already guarded; I was in no mood to mention it however.

The three of us proceeded inside to where Esme and Carlisle stood waiting.

"Edward is with Bella?" Carlisle guessed.

I nodded, "They will be over around seven."

Carlisle and Esme escorted Emmett and Rosalie upstairs to catch up. I began right away with decorating and preparing for what I hope will be one of the best nights we may have as a family all year.

Everything was in place. The candles, the lanterns, the roses, the 0presents, the cake, and the entire house was ready for a night to remember.

Bella's truck is pulling up outside. Edward helps her into the house while Emmett runs around the yard towards Bella's truck.

"Emmett," he turned around, his upper arm just missing the full stack of crystal plates next to him, "Bella is going to put up too much of a fuss if you simply hand over your present."

"Okay," his face looked puzzled.

"So, when she gets here, once she's out of her truck, say hello and then sneak off to install the radio directly into her car so that she can't take it out." His face suddenly lit up like a child in a candy store. "I'll re-wrap the box so that you can still physically hand her a present."

His face glowed more than I've seen it glow in a long time. "Sure, Alice."

"She's almost here!" I made the announcement just loud enough so that the household could hear. Everyone gradually joined Emmett and me in the living room.

The doors opened painfully slowly but as soon as both figures were in sight the chorus of voices sounded, "Happy birthday, Bella!" I waited for the rest of my family members to greet her before moving to her. Emmett's escape out the door was my cue.

"Time to open presents!" I could barely wait; I led Bella to the decorated table full of presents.

"Alice," Bella started, a slightly pained look on her face, "I know I told you I didn't want anything –"

"But I didn't listen," I interrupted before she could continue. I leaned down towards the table and handed Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett's present to her in exchange for her camera. "Open it," I encouraged.

Bella's confused face as she opened the present humored us all, "It's a stereo for your truck," I heard Jasper's voice from behind me, "Emmett's installing it right now so that you can't return it."

"Thanks, Jasper, Rosalie." She smiled at them and then returned a look to Edward, "Thanks, Emmett!" Her voice rose.

I stepped forward, "Open mine and Edward's next," I handed our gift to her.

"You promised," her voice was slightly angered as she addressed my brother.

"Just in time!" Emmett's booming voice appeared a bit behind me.

"I didn't spend a dime," Edward promised, looking back at her. The look in his eyes made my own heart skip a beat.

"Give it to me," Bella adjusted her focus back to the present.

I barely had time to see the events before they happened; the next blur of images rushed through my head within a second, but a second too late. I could not react any faster than anyone else because it happened so quickly.

I smelled it before I could see it, the slight aroma of blood filled the air as I reached for Jasper but my hand was left empty in mid air.

"No!" The roar of Edward's voice brought my attention back to where Bella was. In that instant Jasper was against Edward, fighting to get past him to the fallen girl. The shock that filled my body wouldn't let me move to help at all, although I can't imagine what I would have done if I could have moved. Emmett moved in, helping Edward keep Jasper away.


End file.
